Supporting soldiers for a quarter century

Oration honouring Gladys
OsmondTuesday, May 27, 3 p.m.

Since reaching the age of 70, Gladys Osmond makes it a point to do
at least one new and different activity each year. Motorcycling,
bowling and snowmobiling are some of her later life achievements,
but not long ago, she was arrested. Cuffed and thrust in the back
seat of a police car, she was taken in for mug shots and
fingerprinting. She even spent a short time behind bars. No,
Vice-Chancellor, Gladys Osmond is not a hardened criminal, quite
the contrary. A local police officer arranged the
“arrest” knowing that it would be a novel experience
for Mrs. Osmond. Events such as this provide her with stories to
tell and share with others. Mostly, she shares her stories through
letter writing. Gladys Osmond is a prolific letter writer.

Letter writers have a remarkable place in human history. Benjamin
Franklin was a prolific letter writer. Through his many letters to
friends and colleagues, Franklin determined the predominant weather
patterns in what is now the northeast United States. During
Newfoundland’s Commission of Government, Sir John and Lady
Hope Simpson recorded one of the more complete histories of the
period through their regular correspondence with family.

Early Christians successfully used letters to communicate with and
influence people whom they were unable to meet face-to-face. The
Apostle Paul, one of the earliest Christian missionaries, provides
a notable example. As many as 14 of the 27 books of the New
Testament are attributed to letters from Paul. Perhaps it was Paul
who inspired Gladys Osmond.

When young, she dreamed of helping people by travelling the world
as a missionary. Through her work with the Salvation Army and
assignments to various communities in rural Newfoundland, she
fulfilled much of that dream. Gladys Osmond taught in several
one-room school houses, where she was often the sole teacher for
students ranging from kindergarten to high school. Years later,
after the death of her beloved husband, Harry Osmond, Gladys
accepted a missionary assignment in downtown Toronto. While there,
she started corresponding with a young Canadian soldier who was
stationed in Bosnia.

Since that first letter, Gladys Osmond has persevered in supporting
our soldiers for a quarter century. From her retirement cottage in
Springdale, she writes about “home” in as many as 1,000
letters per month to our troops stationed abroad. For most of those
25 years, her letters were hand written. More recently, a computer
replaced some of her pens, and e-mail has lowered her personal
expenditures on paper and postage stamps. Although occasional
supplies were donated and other members of Osmond’s
“Granny Brigade” have helped her support the troops
through letters and prayer, Gladys Osmond personally provides the
driving force and resources behind her mission to remember soldiers
and bring them simple words from home. In speaking about the
importance of Mrs. Osmond’s work, General Rick Hillier noted:
“…connection to home and a ‘normal’ life,
particularly in times of stress, violence and death, cannot be
overestimated in value.”

Her receiving the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award
and the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service let
others know the importance of her work to our troops. Gladys Osmond
does not need or seek these accolades. She does, however, value the
letters and mementos that she receives from soldiers. A collection
of her letters from soldiers will soon be published. Entitled: Dear
Gladys: Letters From Over There, her book may very well become the
textbook to help others understand the soldier’s psyche in
times of armed conflict.

The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Colossians: “For
though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit.”
Gladys Osmond may not have travelled the world in body, but her
childhood dream of global missionary work has been fulfilled, like
that of Paul, through the spirit of her letters. Vice-Chancellor,
in recognition of this humanitarian who through her pen has
consistently demonstrated her caring for the well-being of others,
I present Gladys Osmond for the degree of doctor of laws, honoris
causa.